Bridge (via Zapier)

Andrew Downes

December 22, 2016 11:39

We explain in our Zapier help guide that you can use Zapier to connect the hundreds of applications listed in the Zapbook to Watershed. If you’re using Bridge LMS by instructure, the bad news is that Bridge isn’t listed. The good news is that doesn’t matter and you can still use Zapier to connect Bridge to Watershed. Bridge implements a technology called Webhooks to make data available to external sources and guess what? Zapier can use webhooks to receive data and push it onto Watershed. Here’s how to set it up.

Connecting Bridge to Watershed using Zapier

To connect Bridge to Watershed using Zapier, click Use This Zap on the widget below and follow the instructions on screen.

This guide outlines each step.

The Zap Template instructions open. Click Create this Zap.

The Catch Hook trigger is selected. There are no other options. Click Continue.

The Test Webhooks by Zapier screen opens. Copy the hook url and email it to the Bridge team. Let them know you are following this guide and would like them to set up a hook to track completed enrollments. You will need to wait for them to add this hook to your account before proceeding. Once they have, mark a course complete for a learner (or wait for somebody to complete something) then click Ok, I did this.

Please note: this step may take some time. You can exit the Zap and find it again on your Zapier Dashboard when you are ready to continue. Make sure you don’t start a new Zap as this will create a new hook URL.

Zapier will look for the hook and should successfully find the course completion. Click Continue.

The Numbers action is selected. There are no other options. Click Continue.

Some options appear for the Numbers action. Do not change any of these. Click Continue.

On the Test Formatter by Zapier screen, click Create & Continue.

The test should be successful. Click Continue.

The Send a Statement (Shared Zaps) action is selected. There are no other options. Click Continue.

On the Set up Watershed LRS Statement screen enter the domain of your bridge site. Don’t include the https:// part of the url or any slashes. Click Continue.

On the Test Watershed LRS screen click Create & Continue.

The test should be successful. Click Finish. Your Zap is now on and will track any new completions in Bridge to Watershed.

Using Watershed to report on Bridge course completion data

Bridge completion data works well with the Activity card. Simply select the Bridge course you want to report on, change the card title and save the card. The Activity card includes a number of visualization looking at completion, success and score.

Bridge data also works well with the Completion Count and Average score measures that you can use in various cards.

Other data available from Bridge

The Zap Template used in this guide covers just one of the possible events tracked in Bridge: completed course enrollments. This is likely to be the most important data point for most organizations to start with. Other events that are tracked in Bridge include:

Courses created, uploaded and deleted.

Enrollments created, updated and deleted.

Live Trainings created, updated and deleted.

Live Training Session Registrations created, updated and deleted.

Programs created, updated and deleted.

Users created, updated and deleted.

Each of these events could be tracked to Watershed using Zapier. Talk to us if you would like help setting up the integration.

Set Bridge Completion based on xAPI data

As well as pulling completion data from Bridge into Watershed, you can also send completion data into Bridge from Watershed. This section explains how to do that.

Set up the course in Bridge

Before setting up the connection, you need to create the course in Bridge and make a note of the course id. You also need to ensure that any users you want to track the completion of exist in Bridge (including a test user), though they do not need to be enrolled on the course. Be sure to set the course’s Required Score to the correct percentage too; if you try to mark a course completed but send a score lower than the Required Score, Bridge will ignore the request and the learner will not be marked as complete.

To get the course id, go to the course page and note down the number in the url. In the screenshot below the course id is 1.

Unlock the Bridge Zapier Integration

The Bridge Zapier Integration required for this integration is invite only. The link below is your invite! Click the link below and follow the on screen instructions to activate this integration within your account.

Populate the options to filter the xAPI statement required to mark completion in Bridge. A lot of the time you will use the activity and verb filters and you may not need the other options. Click Continue.

Perform the action for a test user to generate a matching statement then click Fetch & Continue.

Once the test completes successfully, click Continue.

Now we have an xAPI statement to work with, but we need to translate the email address (or other identifier) in the statement into a Bridge user id. This is done using the Bridge Find User search action. Search for Bridge as the action, select Find User and click Save + Continue.

Select the appropriate Bridge account then click Save + Continue. If you need to set up a Bridge account in Zapier, you can request API keys from their support team by emailing support@getbridge.com

Complete the Account field with your Bridge account. For example if your Bridge url is “watershed.bridgeapp.com” then your account would be “watershed”. In the Search field, use the drop down to select the appropriate actor identifier to search for. This will normally be Actor Email or Actor Account Name. Click Continue.

Click Search & Continue.

Once the test completes successfully, we’re ready to add the action that will mark the course complete in Bridge. Click Add a step.

Exactly the same as before, select the appropriate Bridge account then click Save + Continue.

Complete all the fields:

The account is the same as above - your bridge account name. For example if your Bridge url is “watershed.bridgeapp.com” then your account would be “watershed”.

Use the lookup to select the Users ID from the Find User search.

Enter the course id you noted down earlier.

For the score, you can either look up the score from the New Statement Trigger if the statement includes a score, or you can enter a fixed score. Remember: if the score sent is less than the Required Score for the course, the completion will not be set.

Use the lookup to select the timestamp from the New Statement Trigger.

Click Continue.

Click Create & Continue

Once the test completes successfully you’re all done! Check that the test user has been marked complete for the course in Bridge and then click Finish.

Give your Zap a name relating to the course and completion rules you set up and turn your Zap on. It will then poll for new statements and set completions every 5 or 15 minutes depending on your Zapier price plan.